exposure therapy
2
4.6
- noun
- /ɪkˈspoʊʒər ˈθɛrəpi/
- Specialized
:
terapia de exposición
- We discussed exposure therapy in terms of writing out in detail my nightmare after I've had one, and then in therapy exposing myself to it (reading it back) and doing this again and again, over weeks, so the impact of it diminishes.
It gets easier, like exposure therapy, it gets easier.
- It gets easier, like exposure therapy, it gets easier.
Examples
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The therapist recommended exposure therapy to help her manage her anxiety about flying.
-
As with any exposure therapy, the more you expose yourself to it, the less impact it has.
Blog text (29) -
Vets with PTS can benefit from exposure therapy at the VA.
Blog text (32) -
Such "exposure therapy" is a standard treatment for irrational fears, designed to train the phobic patient not to startle at spiders.
Blog text (9) -
During exposure therapy, patients confront their fears in a safe and controlled environment.
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After several sessions of exposure therapy, he felt less afraid of public speaking.
Synonyms
1
6.7
A treatment that slowly exposes someone to what they fear while they relax
A treatment that helps people face a fear step by step until they feel less scared
A method that reduces fear by slowly exposing a person to what scares them in a safe setting
How Intense
- Specialized
1
7.4
- Specialized
2
4.6
Surface Forms
Morphology
The noun-noun compound is directly compositional: 'exposure' (being subjected to something) plus 'therapy' (treatment) yields a treatment that involves exposure. This is a common, cross-linguistic medical phrasing (e.g. Spanish 'terapia de exposición'), so a B1 learner who knows both constituents would grasp the general meaning even if clinical details require more context.
Etymology
The name exposure therapy comes from the idea of exposure, being placed near what scares you, and therapy, a safe place to get help. By facing the fear slowly and safely, people learn to be less afraid, so the name means 'a treatment that helps people overcome fear by controlled, repeated contact with it'.